Crocea Conquerors
by The95will
Summary: The world changed since the green crystal called Tiberium arrived to claim the world. It becomes worse with every decade. Out in Remnant, Jaune Arc has to serve Brotherhood of Nod to help those around him. He'll risk his life for the military he doesn't want to be part of. In GDI, is someone there he helped years ago. While above in the skies rest another threat to claim Remnant
1. Chapter 1, Battle of Signal

**Here I go again. I had a lot of writer's block for Jaune's Fall from Grace. So this is the product of me wanting to write more RWBY stuff.  
**

"INCOMING!" A soldier screamed as in the sky was blanketed in aircraft. His location balled up in smoke as the corpses of the three men bundled together. 

"Someone get those rockets in the sky NOW!" The same soldier shouted toward his squad. A swarm soldiers, dressed in black, scurried around like bugs, trying to avoid the volleys of death their enemy rained upon them

"But Sir, there are enemy snipers in the area." A voice shouted back. When he raised his head, a burst of red emanated from his face. The body dropped to the floor as a recruit claimed his weapon as he bled out. For those soldiers, they had more bodies than guns to wield.

"This building is going to collapse if this fire keeps up!" Another soldier protested.

A platoon of militia fighters gathered in defense of the base using several buildings as cover for the attack. There was nothing but infantry units to act as the defense as the GDI was on the move. Tanks, APCs, and other enemy squads made it past the laser fields and had killed off the Raider teams were wiped out. 

The end was coming in for the men hiding in the buildings. Talk about the GDI wants to use the Orbital Ion Cannon to attack the base when they reach the final line of defense. The Ion Cannon is a giant laser at the orbit of the planet that rains a focused laser to wipe out entire legions of Nod forces. 

"More Gladiator Tanks rolling up!" The same soldier shouted as she lowered her head down. The sniper fire softened up. Must be because of that the tanks will collapse the buildings with explosive shells.

"Take your weapons and prepare for the end people, these GDI oppressors won't crush our spirit!" The Nod CO shouted to rally the militia forces hopefully. "Get those RPGs up and prepare to fire at those vehicles." The CO ordered. 

"We got it." One of the soldiers replied as he shouldered his RPG. The red paint of Nod to show who they fight. 

"Come I, does anyone hear us?" A feminine voice called on the comms of the soldiers.

"This is Militia seven, who is this?"

"This is Blake of your local Shadow Team. We're coming in from the sky in the west. Provide some cover, and we can clear the rooftops of those snipers." The voice ordered. 

"We hear you." A voice responded instead of the CO. He walked up to the soldiers with the RPGs and walked out of the room they holed up inside. The soldier nodded to his comrades as several of them rallied behind him.

"I didn't tell you to move!" The CO shouted.

"I'm not dying here, that Shadow Team needs us." The soldier replied. His hair was a golden blonde and was part of several skirmishes. He was new of three months ago. His name is Jaune Arc, militia grunt. The Brotherhood needs this base to make a move toward having a secure supply line to the city of Signal.

"We're with you Jaune." A soldier nodded to him. He was of the Nod missile squads. The missile teams were given red uniforms to frighten the GDI forces. It just told the enemy squads of whom not to shoot. 

"We better move, how far are you Shadows?"

"About four minutes out. We can see the buildings of where you are. None of the GDI radar sees us yet." Blake responded. The Shadow Teams were the stealth saboteurs of the Brotherhood of Nod. They have specially designed wingsuits to fly across the fields of battle to get in and out of situations. 

"We hear you Shadow." Jaune nodded his head. The remaining forces of the Nod infantry were in the middle of fierce firefights with the GDI. Several enemy rifle squads were in the area. The GDI have the funds to give every enemy soldier armored uniforms and helmets with Heads Up Displays. The Nod soldiers were assigned a rifle and black uniforms to signify they're part of the Brotherhood. 

Thirty militia fighters gathered behind Jaune as he the ten RPG soldiers prepared to make a move. Jaune ducked his head down as a Gladiator tank rolled past the street in front of the building the Nod infantry barricaded. A squad of riflemen followed closely behind the tank. Jaune raised his rifle and looked around as others followed his lead. 

Jaune took a deep breath. "Fire."

A dozen rifles unleashed their bullets toward the GDI riflemen. There were eight in total. One of them had his helmet's lens crack with blood painting the inside. The last rifleman turned in time to make his way behind the tank. There was no chance to react at all because three RPGs fired at the tank blasting away the outer armor with smoke seeping out of the holes of the tank. The blood and organs of the crew were decorating the metal tomb. 

"This is Ranger 2; the area is still too hot!" The remaining rifleman ducked his head down. He looked around the corner to have a rifle aim at his helmet. 

"Wait-" Before he could finish. A bullet tore through his body. The Nod militiaman ducked down behind the now ruined tank. Jaune looked at his cover and noticed that they weren't under fired at by the snipers. 

"Five of you move up and cover us. Two of you collect those rifles and pass them out. The rest of you move up and cross the street!"

"Sir!" Another militiawoman shouted as she sprinted onto the street and collected the GDI rifles for them to use. The eight eager soldiers ready to use them.

"Two minutes militia." Blake reminded them.

"Roger that." Jaune waved his arm forward, and the remaining soldiers moved across the street. They couldn't tell if the snipers had already sighted the area. Jaune waved his arm again for the militia fights and missile troops to follow him.

The militia rallied into another building which could have the see the GDI forces making their move. It turns out that the enemy troops weren't as large as predicted _. These troops were most likely a recon force_. Jaune concluded in his mind. He looked over at his men. 

"Five launchers cross the street and be ready in case of another Gladiator. From here we make our move. Five rifles and one launcher go to the roof, the rest stay here with me and make as much noise as we can. Four militia fighters will aim toward the rooftops. Be ready for when those snipers to aim. Ready?" Jaune shouted at the end. Each of the militia nodded. 

"Move!" Jaune shouted again. The militia sprang into action with their soldiers moving out to take cover in the craters made by GDI artillery. The rockets zipped across the street with none of them hitting their mark. Two armored Zone Troopers blasted onto the road with their jetpacks. 

"We got Zoners!" A militia fighter shouted. She ducked her head down when they spotted her. The Zone troopers are heavily armored soldiers of GDI forces with laser rifles to boot. Deployed as shock troopers. 

With that, two RPGs zoomed toward them, and one completely overshot while the other struck the ground in front of the Zone Troopers. 

"FUCK!" A missile trooper shouted as he ducked down to load another RPG.

Five militia fighters charged toward the Zone Troopers. They fired their rifles with the nonstop assistance of the others. As this was all happening, a Gladiator tank trended in the distance to aim its cannon. Jaune was among those five. 

The militia fighter behind Jaune had her chest cave in from the laser making a hole in her body. The other four went it clash with the Zone Troopers. They could turn in time to handle them. Two militia fighters attacked the Zone Troopers each. The first Zone Trooper raised his laser in time to sever a militia fighter's body in half from the fire. His partner did not do well as it was toppled over. Jaune aimed his rifle down and wholly shredded the back of the Zone Trooper to stay down. The other Zone trooper killed his enemies; he turned in time for the Zone Trooper to be blasted by an RPG. The explosion knocked Jaune off his feet when the Gladiator fired a shell to miss the Militia forces entirely. 

"We're coming in!" Blake said as her and Shadow Team flew onto the rooftop. Several snipers were wiped out by Shadow SMG fire. Blake preferred her pistols. The Shadow team landed, and the snipers couldn't react in time as the Shadows blasted them. Blake noticed a sniper ready to fire at her five feet away. She blinked as the bullet flew through her forehead. 

The sniper smiled. Only to discover a blade in his stomach

"How?" He stammered with Blake pulling the knife out of him. 

"Decoy semblance." She fired a bullet into his head and kicked him over.

"This is Shadow; the rooftops are clear, thanks for the help militia," Blake spoke into the comms as her other five Shadows killed the rest of the snipers and flew across the buildings to do again. Blake flicked the blood off her blade to join her team in the assault.

"The snipers are cleared! MOVE UP!" Jaune shouted as the rest of the Militia forces spouted from their cover to push forward. The RPG soldier on the roof spoke onto his comms.

"Jaune, we see the Infernal Brigade in the distance, we guess they'll be here in three minutes for the defense of the city ruins." He said as he loaded his RPG.

"We got Infernals inbound, clear a path!" Jaune shouted again.

"We have Infernals!? That means that Black Hand is here as well, we got this!" A militia shouted out.

"Move up!" An RPG wield shouted. Down the street, the same force that Jaune was with came out of the building to join into the counter-attack. 

Jaune looked ahead again to see an old abandoned coffee shop house a squad of GDI riflemen. He was about to order another charge until a black oval shaped vehicle drove from the right toward the coffee shop. With red cylinders with fuel inside, it was a Flame Tank of Nod.

The tank rolled up over the old concrete and unleashed its payload of concentrated fire into a former coffee shop. 

"AAAHHH!" Several GDI soldiers sprinted out from the building engulfed in flames. Several unharmed GDI forces sprinted out into the open to killed by the gunfire. One of them walked across in the open to roll on the ground screaming in pain. He was on fire. His eyes stared at the sky shouting for help.

"Dad! Dad! Where are you!?" She screamed.

Jaune clenched a fist. "Fire your weapons."

"Why? We should let them burn." A militia fighter chuckled as several others joined him. Jaune grunted at them and aimed his rifle at them and did single shots to end several of the GDI soldiers. Several militiamen assisted Jaune. The hatch opened up.

"We heard you guys need help. The GDI is making a move." The Flame Tank commander shouted toward the militia.

Above them, several Nod jets zoomed by.

"Those guys are armed with napalm. Come on Militia; purge them in the flames of Nod!" The commander shouted and closed the hatch of his Flame Tank. Several of the Militia chanted with the commander. Several Scorpion Tanks from the Infernals drove on the other streets. The Nod militia regrouped to help on the counter-attack. 

Two miles away, several GDI lieutenants gathered together.

"Lieutenant Pyrrha, we lost contact with the sniper teams. We believe Nod is mounting a counter-attack. 

A Crimson haired woman looked to her left to her advisor and communications officer. Several of the soldiers on reserve was ready for the call. Pyrrha had her golden armored uniform on as to what the regular infantry wore. Her hair was tied back. 

"Ren, where are the Mammoth Tanks?" Pyrrha turned to her second in command. 

"No, ma'am. Command denied our request and ordered us to continue without them." Master Sergeant Lie Ren replied. 

"Come on Pyrrha, just give me three squads of Zone Troopers, and we can get back the ground we lost." Commando Nora Valkyrie smiled as she shifted her weapon into the grenade launcher form. 

Above them, in the distance, several Nod planes flew by releasing their payloads. The fire engulfed buildings GDI had occupied. 

"The Infernals are here. This quadrant is a lost cause." Pyrrha gave her final order as the rest of their communications officers scrambled the rest of the GDI forces in the region. 

"Yes, ma'am." 

Pyrrha looked to her right. "Nora take two Zone squads and help the infantry escape." 

"Yes, ma'am." Nora nodded while her vision closed to protect her face. Able-bodied Zone Troopers rallied behind her. 

"Come on boys; we got orders." Nora leaned forward since Commandos have jetpacks like the Zone Troopers. The Commandos serve as GDI's most effective chaos troopers on the field. Not to mention their position is the most sought after in the GDI infantry.

"You heard the lady." The Zone Troopers fired up their jetpacks to follow Nora.

"Ma'am, the Paladins tanks have arrived to provide fire support." An officer informed Nora.

"Good, we're retreating until those damn Mammoths arrive." Pyrrha turned around as her forces converged to allow a path for her soldiers to escape the ruins. In honesty, the current units Pyrrha has don't stand a chance against the Infernals.

"This is Nora. We learned that the Black Hand and Flame Tanks are overrunning our forces."

"Just do your best, more you wait, the more our forces die." Pyrrha frowned. _We have to hurry_.

"We hear you," Nora responded as she fired her grenade launcher at the closest Nod infantry to keep them at bay. The Zone Troopers watched her flanks as she charged forward. A Flame tank torched another GDI squad. 

"That's enough out of you!" Nora shouted as she sprinted forward. The Tank noticed her which attempted to reverse which would bear no fruit. Nora flared her jetpack as she flew directly at it and raised her hammer into the sky. There was no chance of Tank could escape. The hammer smashed straight into the hull and Nora raised her hit hammer again for her to knock the turret away from her as the fire spewed out. She cracked the turret again. Then her weapon shifted into the grenade launcher variant and blasted into the open space. It was set to timed charges as Nora jumped off the tank with her jetpack. The tank exploded when she cleared the distance.

Behind her, the rest of the Zone Troopers followed her and cleared the street. The remaining GDI of the area noticed their chances and took it. 

"Lookout, we got Scorpions." A Zone Trooper called out as three

Nod tanks turned to their direction. The Zone Troopers spread apart for them to return fire at the Tanks. It was clear that the Scorpions feared Nora and the Troopers. Each tank started to reverse. Nora's grenade launcher fired again for the tanks' treads to loosen and fall apart. Nora charged in to finish them off.

Pyrrha noticed a large number of disabled and several damaged GDI vehicles leave the ruins. The APCs Pyrrha had on standby collected them for their extraction. 

"This is Nora; I think we gathered as many units as we can. I can see the Infernals six blocks away from us. Shadow Teams have killed the squads that couldn't make it in time. Orders?" Nora brushed several bits of rubble off her shoulders. The Zone Troopers that followed her were each still alive. Nora had them to thank clearing the past seven blocks.

"Pull out. We did what we could today."

"Roger that, making our way back now."

"This is Paladin two-three, we hear you have a Scorpion problem?" Four GDI Tanks rolled into the ruins to help the remaining forces still trapped inside. Behind them, three ACPs drove behind them to for the units that couldn't move far on foot. 

Five Scorpions rolled through the from the ruins and opened fire at the Paladins. Most of the shots missed. One Paladin drove forward to provide cover for the ACPs with would be shredded by the Scorpion Tanks. The four Paladins shelled the Scorpions for two to be immediately knocked out of commission.

From the ruins, several RPG crews arrived to open fire. Nora couldn't assist the Paladins in time. One Paladin was shot entirely with five rockets, and one missile struck the fuel storage, and the tank exploded in fire. 

"Sniper team, we got eyes on them. Give us twenty seconds." The current captain of the three snipers called out as they all crawled into a crater. The three of them picked off about five infantry for them to learn to keep their heads down. 

"We're rolling." The APCs continued to drive through the open road of the ruins. Nora showed op finally for her to blast the nearby Nod infantry. They learned they couldn't retaliate without the assistance of more troops. So they backed off. 

In the tank battle, another Paladin erupted into a ball of fire. Two crew members made it out in time when an extra shell pierced the hull. The Paladins continued to fire back as the fourth Scorpion tank blasted apart. The last one didn't want to risk being double teamed, so it reversed again into the ruins. 

"This is ACP nine, according to the last of the Soldier I spoke to, she told me of Nod Avatars incoming." The time couldn't have been worse. All the armored divisions Pyrrha had at his disposal were locked in engagement with Nod. That would only leave her to ask for air strikes to help. 

"Roget that, get those ACPs out of there!" Pyrrha ordered. She raised her radio that an officer passed off to her. "This is GDI Division Alpha Three; I need fire support on the Signal Ruins."

"This is Firehawk bombers, at your service Alpha Three." A pilot responded to her call. Firehawk bombers were on standby in the Signal Yellow Zone.

"I need fire support," Pyrrha responded by then giving the coordinates of the enemy claimed Ruins. Sure it would kill some, but they didn't need the constant runs from the Firehawks, just enough time for her forces to escape. 

"Roger already fueled and launched to assist. Be there in four minutes." 

"Make it three." Pyrrha finished her communication.

"Nora, get those troops out of there, Firehawks inbound."

"Copy that!" Nora fired another round of her grenade launcher. In ruins three blocks away. 

"Look at those GDI bastards; they're pulling back." A militia soldier laughed as she reloaded her assault rifle. 

"Everyone, pack up and fall back. The only time when GDI pulls out is when they a bomb or orbital strike at the ready. Come on, let's go!" Jaune shouted and offered his shoulder to help a wounded Nod soldier.

"You're kidding right?" A militia Solider asked.

"Stay here and find out. Those you who wish to another day, pull out now!" Jaune shouted as he carried his companion out of the building. The glass doors and windows were all broken. Jaune wasn't paying attention and cut his right ankle as he walked out. About two dozen other Nod soldiers followed after him. 

"Why the hell do they listen to him more than me?" The Nod CO asked his closest soldier.

"He helped Patch evacuate before it got an orbital strike." The soldier looked down. "I'm sorry, but I'm getting out of here, to those of you who stay, Nod doesn't give a damn about us." He dropped his weapon and sprinted off to follow Jaune's squad. The rest of them felt the same way and left with Jaune. 

"We're out now Pyrrha," Nora said as GDI forces evacuated the ruins. 

"This is Firehawk; we're fifteen seconds out." 

Jaune watched as the streets of the outer Signal blasted apart from the bombs of GDI. Several Nod forces stayed put to handle the GDI stragglers. It wasn't a pretty sight. Jaune looked away from the explosions as he and his militia squad walked back to the Forward Operation Base. 

Pyrrha entered the closest ACP ready to help get her clear of the combat zone. She didn't feel right about using the bombs to act as a barrier, but her soldiers are worth more than the cost of using the damn weapons. Pyrrha sighed as she got as many troops out as she could out of the Signal ruins.

"Hey Jaune, do you think we could win against them? I mean, it took two world wars for it be the same." A militia fighter by the name of Iona asked. She looked to be about fifteen years old and was too short to carry a weapon. 

"Let's just get back to base." Jaune rubbed his eyes. _Be safe Pyrrha._

 **Well, there we have it for Crocea Conquers. As this story is starting, I just want to say that I played a lot of Command and Conquer recently and I got in the mood to make this story. It's fighting for control over Remnant. The Global Defense Initiative versus the Brotherhood of Nod, as I'll do my best to make this enjoyable. Thank you for reading and to please review.  
**


	2. Chapter 2, Time for a Hunt

**Here we are again, readers. I'm happy how well chapter one of this story turned out. Now let's continue.  
**

The horizon beamed an orange glow as the sun as about to set in several hours. Several GDI transport trunks were on the narrow highway in the town of Patch Yellow Zone. The people here have harsh wind and the landscape which yields a small portion of food. It was a mundane existence if you ask a daily resident of the area.

Tonight, however, the meal will be different. This GDI convoy is that of a supply run, no ammunition, just food. It was the way of the area to take what you can in hopes of seeing a tomorrow. Jaune didn't like it, but he buckled himself on a Heavily Armored Dirtbike. It was called the "Quickstrike" Mark III by the Nod forces as it was a modified vehicle for rapid combat and can endure several bits of punishment from the enemy. Not ideal for full-blown assaults but suitable for open landscapes.

The red pain glistened in the sunlight. Jaune looked to his right. There stood five vehicles that chose to follow him to this region. The trucks were fat meal tickets ripe for the taking. Jaune looked to his left.

"What we got?" He asked a fellow militia soldier. He was in his late teens and had the official Nod makeshift uniform jacket. His name was Sky Lark. He was at the battle of the Signal ruins with Jaune that happened three weeks earlier. The size of soldiers that followed Jaune out was a dozen soldiers; now forty soldiers joined Jaune to fight GDI out in the Deadlands. 

"There are four transport trucks in total. The armed escorts are two APCs, one Paladin Tank, and two Pitbulls." Sky Lark looked out the same area as Jaune. The GDI CC 6 Pitbulls, the current fastest vehicle of the GDI commissioned forces. The Pitbull is mainly small cars with excellent traction, decent armor plating, and can fire standard rockets.

The current force Jaune had was three commandeered Dune Buggies with customized sleet plating and turrets, along with seven Quickstrikes, and four ATVs to carry two people each. The ATVs were the one thing capable for Jaune to claim the trucks because the ATVs would carry soldiers with RPGs to knock out the enemy armored units. It was all they had.

"Rally the militia, we're rolling out." Jaune ordered. He leaned back and pressed the data pad of the Quickstrike to start the engine.

"We're going for it! Ready-UP!" Sky Lark shouted toward the vehicles." 

The remaining militia forces scrambled to their rides, and the Rocket troops shouldered their RPGs and sprinted to the ATVs. Each of the machines had their engines roar alongside each other. 

Jaune adjusted his biker's helmet. "Communications check, mark!"

"Sync!" The Raider Buggies replied.

"Sync!" The ATV drivers said into their helmets.

"Sync, now let's go for a hunt!" The Quickstrike biker replied as the twisted his bike around to be alongside Jaune's bike.

"Follow me, staggered line, no one drives off otherwise we lose the surprised you get me!?" Jaune looked toward the Quickstrike bikers.

"We hear you."

Jaune looked away and drove his bike into the lead as the other vehicles followed closely behind. 

"Buggies, you two head toward the left and see if you can keep those APCs busy. Two bikers, circle around a kilometer ahead and head toward the convoy, wait for my signal, and you ATVs bring up the rear, once we have them distracted, you go for the Paladin, knock it out of the fight, kill it if you can. Do you read?" Jaune adjusted his bike to make a hard right. The Raiders rallied behind him.

"We got it." The Buggy spoke for its partner. The vehicles all zoomed off to claim the hunt.

It took about ten minutes with the vehicles kicking up dust to have the convoy in sight.

 **GDI POV (Point of View)**

"We got Raiders, small garrison." A truck driver noticed the dust in his rearview mirror.

"APCs carry off and pull back to guard the flanks, let's just discourage them until they back off." The Truck officer ordered he unholstered his pistol. 

"We see them, adjusting cannon." The Paladin Tank officer directed he replied to them. The same forces on the vehicle all rallied into a protective barrier. 

"We're so screwed!" The last Truck driver shouted.

"Shut it, driver! We got this." One of the Pitbulls slowed down slightly, so it brought up the rear. The Nod Raiders zoomed toward the convoy. Each GDI vehicle braced for the impact. 

"We're not waiting for them to attack." The Paladin Tank officer shouted to the crew to open fire. The cannon twisted toward the closing in Buggy. 

"Firing away!" The cannon of the Paladin released a high-velocity shell. 

A pile of dirt splashed the air in the distance. The commander looked through his scope to see that the shot was way too low and instead made a crater to the Buggy to roll inside and jump out. Those Nod bastards are a plague of Remnant; they could eat Tiberium and die for all the Paladin CO could care.

"Dust damn it!" The Officer blared. "Next shot will be-" He rambled more explicit coordinates for the Paladin to fire at the raiders. 

"Continue onward, we'll regroup there." The APCs slowed their combined speed for the two to rally alongside the Paladin. The Raiders were no longer specks on the horizon and now coin-sized targets, they're getting closer to the convoy. The APC's prepped their turrets, and several soldiers jogged out of the APCs. Ten infantrymen in full armor jogged out into the open and started to spread themselves out and aimed their rifles at down the dusty sand. 

The Paladin reversed twenty feet to have a comprehensive view of the raiders still. "Steady boys." The infantry CO said into their comms. 

The Paladin fired another round for it slightly misses the Quickstrike by several feet. The bike waddled but retained its approach.

"They're not backing down!" The tank CO shouted.

"They're here! Open fire!" One of the infantrymen fired his rifle, and the others followed his example. 

The Quickstrike separated, and so did the Buggies, so their targets spread apart. The GDI forces fired sporadically at the raiders. The first to go down was the third Quickstrike as the front end exploded from a Paladin shell. The momentum continued as the driver flew forward from the explosion as he turned into a ragdoll along the dirt. Bones cracked, and blood painted the sand. 

"Come on, hit 'em, hit 'em!" The APC driver whispered as the gunner to the turret fired along the horizon, and the raiders split apart, and something odd was in his view. "Looks like ATVs carrying some soldiers are heading our way." The gunner informed the driver. 

"Why could that be happening? Is Nod that desperate?" The Driver looked through his scope to see five RPGs raised high.

"OH shit…" The driver uttered two the ATVs fired the mounted weapons. The small red dots grew in size. The driver closed his eyes. One struck the armor while the second pierced the hull and left the crew to a fiery fate.

Outside the infantrymen spread themselves out even further as the raiders started to circle their position. The Buggies were the worst because of how the turrets could adjust to any direction meaning the Buggies could spit lead and drive around. Four of the infantry were killed from the spray and prayed the Buggies. 

Three of the infantrymen noticed close ATV and unleashed their clips of ammunition at them, and the passenger was killed first as the body jerked back and rolled along the sand. The driver was struck in the shoulder and twisted the ATV over, and Nod soldier fell to his right and rolled on the sand as well. 

Another Quickstrike was killed as the driver's head snapped back a bullet rippled around the skull. The bike toppled over and smashed into a large rock. 

"Yeah, direct hit!" The gunner shouted. Several Quickstrikes fired off their missiles to miss a majority of shots. One GDI soldier was hit directly in the chest. It broke through the armor and was the wedge in his chest; he dropped to his knees as the soldier fell into shock. Nothing could be done for him as he bled out.

The Paladin twisted the turret to wait for the Buggy to align. It was about to fire, but three RPGs fired at the tank. One RPG ricochet off the tower, the second was aimed too high and flew off to explode behind it, the last one struck the front end which had the most armor. The Paladin was still operational.

The CO looked around to see that several Quickstrikes unusually close to the Paladin. Then came the unexpected. The in on slit to allow the CO to look out had been shot open, and a Nod hand grenade slipped through. 

"Grenade!" The CO ducked forward and hugged the grenade. The CO jumped up slightly as his inners of his body spilled from his stomach and rolled forward. Another grenade went through the hatch. The Crew pressed the button to the emergency hatch for the remaining four soldiers to escape. One of the four couldn't get out in time, and the vibration of the tank was enough to know what happened to him. Under the tank three of the GDI tank crew looked forward to seeing two Nod rifles waiting for them. 

The trends flashed, and three Nod soldiers showed themselves as the Buggies killed the GDI infantry. The second APC remained still as the three crew members walked out of the APC with their hands up as the three ATV RPG riders aimed at them. The three soldiers that killed the tank crew stepped out to help monitor the GDI soldiers. 

"We got this!" One of the militia nodded to the ATVs as they stopped to help in monitoring the GDI forces. The GDI soldiers all started as the vehicles kicked up the sand.

 **Nod POV**

 _Whoa! That was way too close._ Jaune thought to himself as he adjusted his Quickstrike to catch up with the convoy. He contemplated how he could have nearly met his end as the Paladin almost shot him on the incoming advance. He looked on ahead then tapped his helmet. 

"Alright you two, time to make a move." Jaune drove back into formation with the remaining raiders. The two Pitbulls drove on opposite sides of the convoy. It was tough, and the drivers inside the trucks were most likely panic. The Pitbulls broke alignment and adjusted their rockets to aim backward at the raiders. In front of the convoy, dust from the spare Quickstrikes zoomed toward the Pitbulls, and the drivers didn't know what to do. The Quickstrikes got closed the distance, and their missile launchers could accurately hit their targets. 

"I got a present for ya!" The Quickstrike driver laughed as two pairs of missiles glided in the air as the front end of the Pitbulls drivers ends and claimed their lives and spun out of control. The Pitbulls took their eternal rest on the sand mounts.

"We got it from here." The first Buggy driver zoomed in front of the convoy. The turret gunner aimed at the truck driver. It served as cause enough for the remaining trucks to stop as well. Each of the drivers was forced out of their seats and had their hands in the sky as the Buggy gunners aimed at them. The Buggies had a crew of five soldiers on board, but only two were needed to have the Buggy as a threat to the GDI. The remaining nine jumped off the three Buggies and walked to the trucks to secure the cargo. 

Jaune reversed his Quickstrike then parked it along the Buggies.

"Hey, look at what we have here?" One of the Nod soldiers chuckled as he brushed the back end of the tarp to reveal crates worth of food, and as a bonus, medical supplies. 

"Nod scum." One of the four drivers sneered and spat at Jaune as he passed them. 

Jaune turned to the GDI truck driver. "Don't test your luck." He said under his helmet.

Jaune looked away from the GDI and walked to the trucks as the nine militiamen looted the crates.

"What do we got?" Jaune's black helmet gleamed off the setting sun.

One of the militiawomen jogged out from the furthest truck. "About 32 crates worth of processed food and eight crates of medical supplies for us Jaune." The girl nodded. She was the same one who walked with Jaune out of the Signal ruins when GDI leveled it with bombs.

"She's just a kid." One of the GDI drivers whispered to another. Their confused looks emanated from each of the four.

"Good Iona, take out all the contents of one truck and load it on the Buggies, we're taking the other three trucks." Jaune looked away and walked to back to his Quickstrike. "We leave the final truck for the GDI survivors to return to their base."

"Like I need help from you, or your whore, or you Nod fuckers!" The same driver that spat at Jaune took a step forward. Jaune looked at him.

"We just want to the supplies. Keep this up, and it won't be good for you." Jaune gave his final warning. 

"Fuck you and your kids. They're all mutants for your precious Tiberium; ya cock suckers!" The driver sneered as Jaune looked to the ground and looked at the closest Buggy gunner. The gunner looked at Jaune. Jaune nodded to the gunner. 

The gunner looked forward as the Nod militia scooted the remaining three drivers out of the way. Without anyone close to him, the gunner fired into driver's torso. The muscles tensed up and the body danced to the bullets. The gunner made it quick.

"The last truck will be your transportation to get home. Rally the GDI survivors and head out of the Deadlands. This statement is your only warning!" Jaune said as the three drivers headed to the last truck. 

Iona looked to her right to see Jaune lift his helmet up and rub his forehead before he started the engine to the Quickstrike. For five minutes the convoy drove back to the parked APC and the GDI infantry standing together as Nod rifles eagerly aimed at them. Twenty feet away, were two GDI corpses that happened after Jaune and Raiders drove off. He remembered that two bodies wouldn't be so close to one another. 

Jaune spoke into the comms as Sky Lark walked away from the GDI APC.

"What happened?" Jaune asked.

"Two GDI infantry wanted to be smarter than a bullet." Sky Lark replied. With the APC crew and two of the infantry with the drivers would leave eight GDI forces that survived this Raider encounter.

Jaune looked out to the five GDI survivors and informed them of the Truck that will take them home. Should they try to follow Jaune's raiders, they will be killed off. After the incident with the former two GDI heroes, Sky Lark thought it would be a good idea if the remaining forces would undress their armor, drop their weapons, and to hand over their combat helmets. Each of the remaining GDI troops all stood in their bare uniforms. They wouldn't stand a chance. The Nod soldiers already started to loot the dead GDI soldiers of their weapons, ammo, and helmets. But Jaune made sure to order each of them to get the DOG tags of the fallen.

Iona brought Jaune the DOG tags. Jaune walked to a GDI soldier; two Militiamen aimed their rifles for Jaune's safety. When he was close enough, Jaune offered the DOG tags to the GDI soldier. 

"Take this home," Jaune said blankly. 

The GDI soldier nodded to Jaune and turned around to walk to the truck which had the GDI drivers. Picked clean of supplies, but the soldiers could last until they returned to their base. 

The Raiders packed up their remaining gear and wounded onto the Buggies. They drove in the opposite direction of the GDI truck. Iona and Sky Lark sat in the same Nod Buggy. The Raiders formed up around the vehicles on their way back home. 

"Hey Sky, why does Jaune like to leave GDI survivors?" Iona asked as she had her legs caressed by her arms.

"I'm not sure. My guess is because if there aren't any GDI survivors, then that would lead to a heavier retaliation from them." Sky answered as he head bobbled from the Buggy's movements. "Jaune just wants to keep the fighting from being out of control."

"Well judging from the world, it's rather impossible." Iona looked out toward the desert that was once a vast plain of the world before it transformed to sand thanks to the Tiberium. 

"We have to make do with what we have." Sky sighed.

It took an hour before the Raiders made it back to the small docking station that overlooked the Shimmer Beach. It was the docks that were the only functioning one for the past dozen miles. It was the final docking station that leads to the town of Patch. The home of many who wish to be out of the way of the Tiberium War. 

The Raiders drove toward to the makeshift parking lot. The trucks which contained the supplies sped off toward the docks. 

Aqua Greene walked up to Jaune with a calm expression. He does have much in the way of intelligence, but he was a skilled ferryman and fisherman. He went by a local nickname as well; it was 'Twitch.'

"Good haul today?" Twitch asked.

Jaune looked at him and sighed heavily. He removed his Quickstrike helmet and revealed his darkened blonde hair and rubbed his eyes.

"We lost nine militia fighters." Jaune deadpanned. He patted his Brotherhood of Nod black jacket for the dust to wave off the seams. The Scorpion tail and crimson triangle patch came into view. 

"Yeah, but by the looks of it, you brought back an APC and a freaking Tank!" Twitch shouted at the end. Iona and Sky walked beside Jaune.

"I already have the troops load up the supplies and please just take it out to Patch would you?" Jaune looked at his long-time friend. "I want to go bed."

"Sure." Twitch nodded.

"You're the best." Jaune looked to his right to Sky. "Take three crates for ourselves, but only pass out what is needed for us to get through the day. Who knows when GDI wants to mount a counter-attack."

"Got it." Sky turned around to carry out the order.

"Um, Jaune?" Iona patted his back.

"Yeah?"

"We, uh, have more people who wish to join up with the militia." Iona looked to her left to see a dozen people of varying age look back at her with two Militiamen at their sides. Three of militia recruits seemed to be of an old stage of their lives, and the rest were of generally young people and few who looked to be in their thirties. 

"Pass out the Nod jackets and inform Cardin of the recruits. Tell him that they start right now." Jaune waved Iona off as she nodded to him. Jaune continued to walk to his one-person tent with a small box inside. It just had room for a single bedroll. Jaune crouched down and crawled into his tent. The people at Patch will have some food tonight, and Jaune enjoyed that they can still see another sunrise. He closed his eyes and drifted off in tranquility.

 **Well, I hope you liked this chapter of Crocea Conquerors. In Tiberium Wars 3, the Brotherhood of Nod forces has all of these fast but weak troop types around the idea of being a makeshift militia. I enjoy that dynamic of the Nod forces in the games. So, with the Raiders in mind, I thought I should make a chapter around the idea of the Nod soldier just hunting for food. Thank you for reading, have an excellent day, and to please review.**

 **I like to respond to all reviews in the new chapters. I call it the Response Corner.**

 **Iandude:** Thank you for reading. Have a great day.

 **Mr. Green37:** Kane's time will come, thank you for reading. Have a most excellent day and yes. PEACE THROUGH POWAH!

 **Ghost-407:** The Tiberium Wars are a brutal one. I mean, it always ends in a stalemate and Nod just gets stronger with each passing decade. I guess it's what I love about the games. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and had a most excellent day. 

**CrimsonHeresy:** I take combat scenes seriously as I write because I want the audience to understand what's happening in full. Sorry about the GDI and Nod side jumping, I'll start labeling them from now on. The World of Remnant seems like an excellent place to use for total war. I'm messed up that way. Have a great day and thank you for reading. 

**Guest:** I think Nod will be fun to write. 

**Pataponvideo:** I'm thrilled to accept your support, have a great day.

 **PixeliteMC:** Glory to Brotherhood is mandatory, Peace through POWAH! Thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter 3, Echo 4's Salvation

"Did you hear about what happened in Signal?" A soldier in a red and black uniform asked. It had the scorpion stinger on the left shoulder. Below it was a single black arrow that pointed downward. She was a private of the Nod forces. The soldier looked to her right to another guard. The two walked along the black metal fence that couldn't offer much protection.

"That the Nod successfully repelled the GDI?" Her guard partner responded.

"Yeah, apparently GDI had to pull out because of the Infernals." The woman said as she looked out toward the hillside wholly covered in green, but not from grass or trees. It was nothing but the hazel glow of Tiberium.

"Really? So no wonder they pulled out." The girl watched out as the crystals glowed in the evening view.

"No, that was the Militia before the Infernals." The partner retorted.

"Militia?" She scoffed. "Did they have an official commander?"

"I don't know, but if I had to guess, I would assume that a Black Hand officer assumed control. The only way it would seem possible." The partner shrugged as he readjusted his grip on his assault rifle. The two started to ramble on about some other daily events that didn't have too much relevance to the never-ending war.

With the red lines that formed a circle, which encased the set of soldiers that stood two hundred yards away. The man looked away, and the two started to walk along the fence. Unaware of the potential bullet that could end him.

"I counted seven guards on patrol. No counter snipers from what I can tell…" A feminine voice pointed out in a calm tone.

"I counted 9; there's two more by the Tiberium field." A second feminine voice added. She, however, sounded much younger.

"Hold on." The first voice adjusted her view and looked through her binoculars. She could see the soldiers look around. The militia might be what makes the majority, but Nod still uses official soldiers.

"You know I could pick them off." The second voice said as she adjusted her scope.

"Ruby, we're thirty kilometers away from the closest form of extraction…" The first voice slowly moved her binoculars away from her eyes. She was with silver hair tied back in a ponytail at shoulder length. Her uniform was of a black and slightly blue. The upper body was black while the shoulders stitched with blue. Her light blue eyes narrowed at her partner.

"What? You know I can, Weiss." The one named Ruby looked away from her sniper rifle. Her hair was crimson and cut short while her eyes were of pure silver. Her uniform matched in the black, but her suit was red instead of blue.

"Come on; we did our recon. Come on; Command ordered us to head on back." Weiss said as she pulled away from the view that overlooked the Nod depot.

This depot housed a small refinery and stored the shipment of the crystals for a Nod convoys to take back to their operations centers. The difference, however, was that Nod equipped War Rigs that were rolling fortresses with armaments that could kill Paladin tanks and infantry with ease. The only method to weaken the Nod infrastructure was to hit the refineries. It's just that this one, is one of the lesser protected sites.

Ruby spotted something in the distance. "Hold up." Several trucks pulled into the Refinery with the Nod insignia on it. Weiss looked through her binoculars.

Several soldiers of the black crest and red outlines showed themselves as they walked out. One of them was a woman.

 _Kik klak!_

"When was the last time you checked yourself for the mile?" Ruby asked.

"At 5 minutes 39 seconds… why?"

"I see a target that's too good to pass up." Ruby sneered as she looked through her scope and pointed directly at the center of the forehead of the woman.

Weiss followed Ruby's direction. Her binoculars zoomed in for her to see a renowned Black Hand Captain. Her name was Cinder Fall, a woman that torched countless GDI soldiers while her soldiers that follow her command to the very letter. She wore a black uniform of the standard black with several waving lines that emanated from her collar, and it spiraled along her sleeves. She was in control.

"If I make the shot, we can reach our extraction in 17 minutes."

"Ruby doesn't."

At the Refinery

"Captain!" A Nod soldier saluted Cinder.

"I received orders from the Nod Command to inform you that this region of the Tiberium field is to be under GDI attack in several days." Cinder looked at the soldier. "So that is why you're being ordered to place several explosives around the location."

Cinder waved her hand forward then what followed was the remaining Black Hand enforcers spread out to continue with their work.

"This location offers some value, can't there be a defense force instead?" The captain asked as he observed the Black Hand.

"The Nod commander thought the same thing as well. The problem is that the region doesn't have the resources to move sufficient armor to this location." Cinder answered back.

The soldier accepted the thought. "Are there any Nod Avatars in the area? There's are several recon bikes that can act as runners to alert them about the next attack." The captain offered his thoughts.

"Don't overthink… It doesn't suit your role as a grunt." A Black Hand soldier berated the Refinery captain.

For the longest time, there has always been this dividing line between the Nod Forces and the Black Hand. It regularly played it as it has in the past. The soldiers get the work done as the Black Hand would offer assistance to secure the will of Nod's one and only real leader, Kane.

The captain walked away from Cinder with a confused look. Something wasn't right, and most the guards of the Refinery felt it. The Black Hand troops weren't paying attention.

"This field is rich." The captain looked at his second in command. "Tell the Quickstrikes they're moving out."

"Sir?" The captain responded. This order confused her.

"I said, tell the Bikers they're going to seek out the Avatar division that's 10 kilometers south of here. They're always on standby. If there's going to be some attack, we need the firepower." The captain looked back toward the Black Hand. "Pass it on… now."

"Yes, sir." From the red crosshair, the two Nod soldiers separated as the captain walked to Cinder's side.

"It looks like they're setting up explosives… by the looks of it…" Ruby adjusted her aim to scan the refinery one more time. "… They're using semtex."

 _Once the GDI roll in, that's mean some soldiers that could get killed in the trap…_ Weiss concluded as she peered through her binoculars.

"Well, we better head back and alert Command. So that way they'll expect the least amount of resistance." Ruby responded to her spotter.

"Check to your left. It looks like several Quickstrikes are about to head out." Weiss added.

"Wait, where could those be heading?" Ruby asked.

"Damn… They know of the attack." Weiss knew of recalled all the times she knew of how Nod bikers act as occasional information runners. Something's up, and she didn't like it.

"Come on, let's get going." Ruby pulled her rifle away then closed her bipod. "We can cut them off at the next ridge if we sprint there in time."

"Good idea." Weiss capped her binoculars.

Down below 5 Quickstrikes kicked up the dirt and left a small dust cloud in their wake.

"Some GDI division is making its way to the Refinery. Those Avatars can defend the Refinery in time." The Quickstrike captain shouted to his men.

"Roger that." A biker named Brock said back.

"I copy." The second to last biker in the back named Russel waved.

"We got a lot of ground to shred and not a lot of time to do it." The captain looked forward. Carter was his name. Of all the usual Quickstrike Bikers. These Nod soldiers were trained to fight the GDI. Straight from Temple Prime. The Nod stronghold.

There wasn't even need to speak to them. The five bikers positioned each other apart enough apart. A star formation for the bikes. Then it came.

The first to go was the one on the right. Darcy Nivans. Been with the Nod for two years. That record halted the moment a bullet forced her head to snap back for the bike to topple over as it struck a rock. A wife of a long deceased husband finally reunited.

"Disperse!" Carter ordered.

The Quickstrike staggered apart. Carter glanced back while the HUD of his helmet flashes several blue and green icons for a bullet to wiz past his head.

"Dust damn it!" Carter jerked his biker to the right from reflex. "We got a sniper!"

"Where?" The fourth biker asked frantically.

"At the Ridge, 300 meters behind us!" Carter replied.

"I bet if we turned-" Russel was cut off by Carter.

"Then we become bigger targets. Stupid kid!" Carter looked ahead. "We still got the lead in the time for us to get away. Adjust your speed and be sure to move a little. Don't let your path become too predictable!"

"Yes, sir!" The bikers spoke simultaneously.

The next bullet pierced and struck in the middle of a Quickstrike gas tank. The fuel tank was grazed for the gas to leak out. Most likely a miss shot to destroy the bike. The owner was named Carla Masters.

"I'm hit!" The biker scrambled to check her systems. "I can keep going. Someone pull back so I can pull forward."

The logic was that on the off chance that the sniper and its spotter could be confused from the switch. The uniforms and the design of the Quick Strikes were standard issues. It was difficult to tell them apart. It was stupid, but it was all the bikers could do.

"Do it. Adjust formation. Swap to your opposite side. One by one people." Carter eased up on his bike.

The Ridge, 320 meters away.

"They're adjusting," Weiss commented.

"Where's the one I clipped?" Ruby asked. She had to blink her eye.

"It drifted to the right. Still in range. Wind resistance, 7 miles from the west…" Weiss adjusted the magnification. "Fire when ready."

The Crescent Rose launched another bullet. After four seconds, the bullet embedded itself into the body of another one of the bikers. The one named Brock. From there the body went limp then fell backward for it to along the dirt. The Quick Strike scrambled.

"This is Carter of the 43rd Quick Strike squadron. We are currently under sniper fire from the Signal Wasteland, requesting support!"

"This is Refinery Outpost 39. We read you."

Static buzzed on the radio.

"Well, they know we're here now." Weiss took her hand away from her earpiece. Ruby chambered the next round.

43rd Quick Strike.

"Couldn't we have used radios to signal the Avatars?" Russel asked.

"The Avatars in this region don't have battery-operated radios. It's to keep them hidden unless called upon." Carter explained. It may have been stupid to talk while on the run, but Carter couldn't care less.

"What about Brock?"

"He's dead. I noticed his head hit the ground pretty hard." Carla responded to her helmet comm.

"Fuck." Carter nodded his head. "We don't know what of firepower they have; we could still be in range."

"Yes, sir!"

Several bullets kicked up the dirt beside them. It was three shots worth. Russel sighed then felt a pile of dirt bush in his right boot. A clear sign he was the sniper's next target.

"I'm marked. Clara swap with me!" Russel looked back to see her rev her Quick Strike. The moment he finished the request, another bullet whizzed past him as he noticed the dirt kick up again in front of him. The sniper most likely adjusted itself to score a hit sometime soon.

"Alright. Move!" Clara ordered as she slowed down slightly for Russel to make his move.

Then it happened another bullet struck a Quick Strike. The target, was Russel's bike, the front tired blew out as the motorcycle lost control then launched itself upward. Russel leaned to his right to give himself a chance. The dirt greeted him with overwhelming pain, and by the time it was over. Russel stared at the endless blue of the sky.

"Damn… We lost Russel." The helmet comm updated.

"We got to keep moving." Carter shot back.

"I hope you're right sir." Clara leaned forward in the hope to make herself a smaller target.

Russel rolled his head to the left to see the dust. The short size of his squad. ' _Well, this was bound to happen sooner or later…_ ' He rotated his head back to the sky.

The Ridge.

"Confirmed kill." Weiss moved her binoculars.

"That makes it 59 now." Ruby bolted the spent shell casing.

"Hurry up; we got about 30 seconds before we need to pull out. Nod Infantry are heading this way." Weiss held her left hand to her ear to listen in to the standard radio frequency.

"Just need one more," Ruby whispered as she peered into her scope.

"Hurry up Ruby." Weiss placed her binoculars into her lower backpack. After the next shot, Weiss could care less.

The two Quickstrikes. The sniper took a deep breath; she exhaled slowly as the next bullet released at the lead bike. The distance was too high. Not even a spout of sand showed her the significance of her shot.

"We tried." Ruby thought out loud.

"Good because I spotted 8 Nod soldiers down the Ridge." Weiss snapped back. Without the need to speak, Weiss pulled the chamber back to her TDR-39 a semi-automatic assault rifle. Standard GDI issue offered to the solider with proficient accuracy skills.

"Come on; we have to move!" Weiss ordered while Ruby aimed down the Ridge.

Soon afterward, Ruby noticed a Nod soldier overzealous enough to take the direct route. Ruby made quick work of him. Weiss moved forward then leaned her back on a large rock that shielded her from several bullets. The occasional crack sound happened from below. Ruby adjusted her scope and peered her head out from cover to put another soldier face first into the dirt.

"Ruby we gotta hurry!" Weiss responded as she peeked out from her rock to take lay some rounds down the Ridge. Most of the Nod were forced to take cover and never peek their heads out. The bullets zipped and pinged.

"Yeah… we missed our window to escape." Ruby spoke honestly. There wasn't enough cover from the top of the Ridge to get down safely. The widow to escape close since the Nod forces below surrounded them. So without any other option, Weiss and Ruby would have to carve a path out.

"This is Weiss Schnee! GDI sniper team Echo 4." Weiss spoke into her long-range radio. "Our position is compromised and need immediate evac!"

…

…

… Ruby saw a red helmet that begged for a bullet. She fired too early for it ducks back down again.

"This is GDI, Orca 7; we hear you Echo 4, be there in 4 minutes."

"We'll probably be dead by the time they show up," Ruby spoke blankly.

"Shut up Ruby... Roger that Orca, hurry up!" Weiss dropped her radio as she noticed a Nod soldier in the open. It took five rounds for the Nod soldier to scared back into cover.

"Freaking Nod." Weiss cursed as while the firefight continued.

The sand…

"This is Private… Russel… Thrust…" He coughed, "Strike driver… requesting…" he panted again, "assistance… arm and leg… broken. Does anyone read?" Russel kept his movement to a minimum.

"I repeat… I'm Russel… Thrust." To keep his mind off the pain, he realized how tired he was. Just that morning, Russel felt that he could get through the day. That assumption was proven false…

Soon the blue sky faded to black…

The Ridge. 3 minutes later.

"Last mag!" Weiss shouted at the sight of her weapon peered down again. Weiss tried her best to keep her gun to as a significant threat. The real reason why the team was alive was that Ruby was good with her rifle. That was the reason for the snail-paced advance of the Nod soldiers.

"I'm on my third set. One more and I'm out too." Ruby smiled as she scanned the area below.

"Don't patronize me…" Weiss sighed.

"I'm not, just wanted to say that I lived a good life," Ruby said with a laugh at the end. "I only have regret."

Weiss lowered her weapon then placed her back firmly on her rock. "What's that?"

"That I didn't ask for a different partner soon enough..." Ruby retorted. Just that one little joke, Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Childish till the end." Weiss aimed again.

"You know me." Ruby giggled.

It was then from all the shouting below the pair. It was clear that the Nod prepared for a final assault to clear the Ridge. Ruby bolted the next round. Even in the face of death, the end didn't matter. all that mattered was that she would get the chance take her killer to feel the embrace of death.

Then it happened. Another squad of 12 Nod soldiers sprinted along the rocks to reinforce the current team. It'll be over in a matter of seconds. Then the final nail in the coffin appeared on the horizon. A Nod Hornet. A lightweight attack helicopter with a rotary minigun to grind GDI Infantry into mincemeat.

Weiss and Ruby didn't need to say anything further.

The Hornet adjusted itself then as the weapons began to rotate, the tail rotor combusted into smoke. Then the helicopter spun out of control for it crash along the sand.

"What the…?" Weiss lifted her head from her weapon's sight.

The hornet toppled downward. The Nod dispersed a dozen of them immersed in the dust clouds. Ruby peered into her scope as she caught a glimpse of their salvation.

"This is Mammoth Tank. We got your distress signal Echo 7." A thick feminine voice spoke into their radios.

"Thank dust!" Weiss felt as if her heart skipped a beat.

"Look Weiss." Ruby nodded in the opposite direction. Weiss did as suggested as she saw Two Orca attack hovercrafts make their way toward their location. Just the sight alone made Weiss filled with unbridled joy.

Several more busts of dirt echoed from the bottom of the Ridge. Ruby got to take a look at the Orange Mammoth Tank. There were two more behind it as well as 5 APCs armed with anti-armor rounds in the exposed turrets. The GDI armored Division adjusted itself back into formation.

"This is Orca pilot. We see you Echo 7."

"About time." Weiss snapped.

"Blame the traffic." The pilot laughed. It took another 30 seconds for the Orca to position itself to open up to load the sniper team.

"Thanks, A.D." (A.N: Armored Division.) Ruby waved at them before she boarded the Orca.

"Don't mention it. Just get those snipers out of here." The Tank commander responded.

"Oh yeah. Some Quickstrikes were trying to run away or something. We don't know what for." Ruby said on her radio.

"We know, it's too late Echo 7, those Quickstrikes alerted an Avatar Squad to defend the Refinery."

From there Ruby explained the chance of a trap of Nod explosives. The Armored Division accepted the tip with utmost caution.

"We gotta get going A.D."

"We got it." The commander understood that the need to leave.

The Orca hovercraft ascended into dozens of feet as Weiss started out the 6-inch window toward the Armored Division.

"This is Winter." The Commander spoke clearly into the radio. "We accept the challenge of Avatars. Roll out!"

"Yes, ma'am." Every single vehicle under Major Winter Schnee's command fell rearranged themselves into a battle formation. The tank Winter commanded was the Mammoth Tank. The Heaviest Tank GDI has to offer. Meant for the meanest confrontations with Nod. Unrivaled, this division was under the care of the strictest Commander of the sector.

Winter was also Weiss' sister.

The Orcas pulled out of the yellow zone to make it back to the closest secure GDI base for Echo 7 to be dropped off.

"We got lucky didn't we?"

"Shut up Ruby…"

The Sand.

The view of the world above shifted into that of a black uniform. Russel shook his head for the stabs of pain to jolt his body. He grunted through the pain to see a woman hold his arm over her shoulder.

His savior the biker called Clara came back for him.

"How?"

"Got your message." She cut Russel off.

"Where's Carter?"

"With the Avatars. They're making their way back the Refinery to meet the GDI head on." Clara stopped then pulled on Russel's arm to reaffirm her grip on him. It was painful, but it would help him in the long run.

"How-?"

"Did I get here?" Clara cut him off again.

Russel bared his teeth as his foot grazed a rock which reminded him of his broken leg.

"Well, the moment the sniper stopped firing at us. My bike used up the last of its fuel." Clara pointed out. "I started to walk then I got your signal. It took me an hour to find you."

"Oh… well okay." Russel looked back to the ground. Now that he got his strength back, Russel did his best to balance himself on his other leg to help Clara. Ahead of the two, a string of dust shot directly at them. From all the things to expect in a Yellow Zone, help wasn't usually a top priority.

The dust cloud broke apart to reveal a black Brotherhood of Nod dune buggy. It took several minutes for it to catch up with the pair. They stopped as the vehicle pulled alongside them. A masked figure loomed its head out from the passenger side. On the back of it, was a mounted machine gun with a gunner.

"Are you the ones who called for help?" The figure asked. Just by the sound of the voice and the frame of the body. He removed his balaclava.

"We are…" Clara had a dry throat.

The Nod soldier looked to have been in his mid-twenties. The view of his hair shines off the sun with combed back fiery orange hair.

"The name's Cardin. Nod Militia. We can offer some medical treatment than a transfer back your unit."

"That would be awesome." Clara smiled.

Cardin smiled as he dismounted his buggy to help Clara and Russel board the dune buggy. Then just like that, the engine started as a cloud of dust floated into the air.

 **Sorry about the delay. Since I saw the design for Winter, that kicked me into high gear to work on this story. I don't have much to say other than just me requesting for you to leave a review of your thoughts, please. Thank you for reading and have an excellent day.**

 **Iandude:** A fair assumption. I think this one will be a decent story toward Cardin. Have a great day.

 **Pataponvideo:** Amen. Praise be to Kane. Thank you for reading.

 **PixeliteMC:** Yeah that is always fun to do hit and run tactics with Nod troops. Oh yeah, I forgot about that from the Second Tiberium War. Oh yes, Cabal. That was fun. I hope you enjoyed the Chapter. Peace through Power, friend.

 **CrimsonHersey:** Yes, CRDL is on the Nod side of the war. Thank you so much for that observation, I aim to have some love and respect go to Jaune during the war. It's a difficult time. It will be tough for everyone all around Remnant. You were right about the GDI part. Well, that little thing for the Hunters, you're going to have to wait to see what I'll do with them. Have a nice day.


	4. Chapter 4, Spare Moments

A dozen militia soldiers aimed at a makeshift range. Several old boxes and pieces of wood stacked on each other. Bit of rotted wood and plastic containers. An aluminum can flip into the air and landed in the dirt with a fresh hole in the center. 

The militia had target practice today.

A woman in a black jacket squinted with her right eye even though she was left-handed. Most of the single shots she made with her rifle rarely connected to her target.

"Ms. Darman." The instructor called the young woman out.

When the instructor would walk beside a recruit, it would be clear the on day one of muzzle control. Trigger happy morons were an issue before they structured themselves. 

Rebecca Darman was part of the recruits that showed up eight days earlier. She was green as grass and well brown as sand, but people preferred to remember to say grass since it would remind them of what Patch used to be.

"You seem to be having difficulties with your weapon. Why is that?" The Nod instructor leaned forward.

"I just haven't used a weapon before in my life, sir." Rebecca broke eye contact.

"Hmm." The instructor took hold of Rebecca's weapon. He adjusted to so that she held the weapon correctly and her eyes were leaned in to view the iron sight of the rifle. The instructor whispered in her ear.

"Take a deep breath." Rebecca did as ordered. "Now exhale slowly and use your eye at sight, your left eye." Rebecca closed her right eye. "Now find your target." She focused on a red bottle that no other recruit fired at from earlier. "Fire as you exhale." 

_BakkaBakkaBakka rrrrrooooooooommmmmmm_. The bullets echoed around her.

Rebecca noticed that three bullet holes were planted around the red bottle as the top portion of it was missing. The recruit smiled in excitement.

"Good, now make that routine but remember. Your future targets aren't going to be helpless bottles." The instructor looked around as half the recruits scrambled back to fire downrange.

"Carry on." The instructor walked away from the crowd. Jaune watched the entire time of range practice. When it was over, Jaune walked alongside the instructor.

"How do they look Cardin?"

"Half are material we need. Others might be better suited to the maintenance division. Some of them don't even have experience with a gun." Cardin rolled his shoulders back and forth.

"Right. How are the older ones?" Jaune looked over his shoulder.

"They can hold their own." Cardin glanced back at the recruits. "The one with the raven black hair and the sideburns… what's his name…" Cardin snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah. Tukson, I guess you can say he's at the top of the class so far." He shrugged.

"Alright, just keep them on the drills and make sure their rations are equally divided." Jaune looked to his right to see Sky Lark walk toward them. "I want them able to clean their weapons as fast as the GDI standard. Can you do that Cardin?"

"Consider it done boss," Cardin smirked at Jaune. The smirk wasn't of malice or hatred, but rather a challenge. How could Jaune even suggest that Cardin couldn't get the job done? It was an endearing insult for Cardin, and he walked off to carry out the order. The moment Cardin looked away, Jaune smirked at him. 

Ever since the battle of Signal. This militia had to care for itself after the Signal Ruins Skirmish. Most Militia Groups around Remnant kept in decent communication with the actual Brotherhood. But still, most chapters just depended on the soldiers that volunteered from their perspective regions.

Jaune inherited the title of leader to the Patch Militia Forces. Today, he had to oversee the plans and the training of the recruits. According to the radio of the Raider Patrols, there weren't any sign of GDI forces in their region. 

"What you got?" Jaune asked as Sky Lark caught up with him. 

"The food procurement has been delivered to the residents. The soldiers there were thorough that the shipment was divided evenly." Sky stumbled a step behind Jaune. "Several complained but that's not anything new."

"Great. What about the Raiders?" Jaune glanced to his right to see Twitch at the docks 100 feet away. Twitch waved at them before he went back to load his boat carefully. 

"So far, seven Buggies have been retrofitted with sleet metal to function as armor in for the next incursion. We put forth a request with the main garrisons for us to get a shipment of Repair Drones."

Jaune knew the metal wouldn't help at all to protect the Buggy crews from the GDI. Some of the locals would risk offering some assistance to the Patch Militia. 

The Repair Drones however. Those pieces of equipment has always be sought after in the Militias. Those little robots are stationed in various Nod bases as part of the Main military forces and often have the craft of repairing most vehicles into working order. Jaune recalled seeing a leaking Flame Tank be sent back to the front in just twenty minutes after a visit from a drone.

"What do we have in terms of the commandeered Paladin?" Jaune asked.

"A former Scorpion Tank Crew have volunteered themselves to be the ones to drive it. It isn't no Predator Tank but it's something."

"I didn't know we had a crew in reserve." Jaune frowned in confusion.

"Well, they're deserters from the Signal confrontation. They joined up with us as we left the city ruins." Sky clarified. "They saw the tank and asked me about it."

"Okay, so far we're doing fine for now." Jaune and Sky continued their walk as they passed an armory cache located on the far back of the Militia base. Several guards nodded to Jaune, and he returned the nods in kind.

"Great work Sky. Double check with the crew and give me an update if tank crew can use the Paladin. Use the fuel that's left for them to practice with." Jaune did a light wave of his hands.

"Sure thing." Sky nodded to Jaune then he walked off to the garage.

Jaune made his way to the base's infirmary. There the wounded are given first aid than are sent to Patch to wait out the duration of the healing process. Cardin brought in two survivors three days earlier. A young man and woman. The man had two broken bones and three fractures. The woman was just dehydrated but was slowly brought back to her bearings. 

The entrance revealed new light into the tent. There, dozens of Nod Militia soldiers were being sought out by volunteers. The doctors of the place were under mandatory orders to get a set amount of rest in between their time to see the wounded. Jaune made that very clear that to the point of making so if the orders, he'd have the doctor set outside and shot if they ignore him. It never came to that since Jaune didn't want to be informed by Sky that the doctors needed to be seen by other doctors.

"How are you doing?" Jaune asked Clara.

She rubbed her left shoulder then looked up from her bunk. "Fine thank you."

"Your squad mate is doing much better today. It'll be a month or two before he should consider leaving." Jaune reached into his back pocket to take out a survivalist knife. "We informed your commanding officer of your location and partner. Since Carter is the last of Quickstrikes, he's going back to Temple Prime to reform the squad." 

Clara stared at Jaune. "So in other words… I'm free to stay here or seek transport to Temple Prime."

"…Yeah." Jaune didn't like the idea of forcing people to stay in a place they probably don't need to, but his conscience wouldn't allow the other option either. Clara took a deep breath as she spoke up.

"Where do you need me, sir?" Clara stood up and straightened her posture.

"This is the Militia; you're not expected to be formal." Jaune chuckled at the end of his sentence. 

"Orders sir?" Clara ignored the statement.

"You technically outrank me." Jaune smiled. Clara gave Jaune the same blank attitude from conventional Nod forces. There wasn't anything Jaune could do to change her mind, so he gave up. "Are you good with tools and vehicle work Clara?"

"Yes sir. I'm the best sir!"

"Well, head to the garage. A mechanic named Dove needs help with modifying the engines. Also you're now part of the 3rd Raider Squad. Look for a soldier named Carmine as he'll get you situated."

"Thank you sir!" Clara walked past Jaune without a second glance.

The moment she wasn't in view, Jaune shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. Then he checked in with the doctors and volunteers. Everything seemed to have been in working order at the moment, so Jaune left the infirmary without any trouble. He continued his walk and homed in onto his tent. Most of the soldiers had to use makeshift beds for the militia base. All Jaune asked for was a bedroll and a tent to use instead of what the Militia offered him. It didn't feel right that he should get some special treatment. 

The base was about 60 meters in length. Several destroyed buildings stood at the center since this area used to have been a port town that worked in unison with Patch across the lake. Since the green crystals sucked the resources out of the region, the people moved to Patch as a refuge.

That didn't stop GDI from assuming the worse.

It's been five months since GDI tried to attack the port town to move on Patch. The Militia thwarted the attack and captured GDI infantryman. From the interrogation, the soldier assumed that Patch was the place of a Nod Temple and in the process to brainwash the residents. That assumption sickened Jaune.

That could not have been farther than the truth. In reality, Patch was under Jaune's protection because he welcomed various survivors within the Yellow Zone. So far, over 3,000 residents have gathered and adjusted themselves to Patch. They even made it a social duty to offer supplies to the Militia. It wasn't a threat of their expense; it was just a humble offering the people liked to do. 

A funny thought happened though. Jaune recalled a story from Twitch that the people in Patch started to fish for their meat and established a small government. An elected major oversaw the arrangements Jaune set up. 

The time of how Jaune joined the Brotherhood of Nod was buried deep in his memory. All that mattered to him now was the make sure that the citizens of Patch could see another sunrise free of fear of the GDI. 

"JAUNE!" Iona called out which pulled Jaune away from his five minutes of sleep. "JAUNE!" She cried again.

Jaune rubbed his eyes as she opened his tent to see a scared Iona run towards him.

"What is it, Iona?" 

"Confessors! We have Confessors coming here for inspection or something!"

Jaune's eyes widened in terror. So much so, it felt like Jaune's heart sank to the ground.

"Tell the Recon teams to pull back and to be on standby on the outskirts. Hurry!" Jaune crawled out of his tent.

The Confessors. The so-called Missionaries of the Brotherhood, even though Jaune wanted to protect the people of Patch from the GDI, but there wasn't much Jaune could do against the official Nod military. When something is valuable, more often than not, they take it. 

Whether it be weapons, bodies, or valuables. It usually was all three.

To take people who are depressed with a crumbling environment and lost for hope, are easy to manipulate.

For you see. Jaune never accepted the Will of Kane, to see the Tiberium as a source of enlightenment or blessing. If anything, Jaune always saw the Green Crystals as a parasite that drained the beauty of Remnant… Even that name… Remnant. Jaune didn't know what it represented. The name of what the former world did not have much meaning to it anymore since Remnant took that mantle. 

But back to the Confessors. They're part of the Black Hand, AKA the Brotherhood's Secret Police. When the will of Kane should be undermined in any way. The Black Hand was there to rectify that problem.

Jaune jogged around the base to make sure it met up to Nod standards for the next twenty minutes. As he warned Cardin, Iona caught up to them.

"We have… (gasp) two Venom crafts and a transport… (gasp) coming in from the south… (gasp)." Iona spent several seconds to herself to catch her breath.

"What do you think the Black Hand wants with Patch? This region doesn't offer any real strategic advantage." Cardin pointed out as the recruits were dismissed from training drills that day.

"No idea but I don't like it. Iona, tell the Paladin Crew to get that tank hidden in the back of the garage." Iona nodded to the order and sprinted off. "Cardin, tell the Militia to make themselves look presentable. Let's just hope that this is just some kind of random inspection."

"Roger, Boss." Cardin jogged off.

 _Oh dust, I hope they aren't here to take the Faunus away_ … Jaune rubbed his forehead before he looked up to get the base ready. The Black Hand like it when they feel important...

GDI Headquarters. Vale Blue Zone.

A vacant boardroom with dimly lit lights opened up for a woman to walk out. She constantly adjusted her uniform to look presentable. Then the door opened up as a young man with raven black hair, and a ponytail leaned out of the gate. He smiled at her, and she smiled at him. Since there wasn't anyone close by, the woman walked over to kiss the man. 

Unable to control himself, the man pulled her in closer to deepen their kiss. Slowly but surely his right hand took hold at the back of her head. His fingers danced through her orange hair. That simple gesture sent chills down her spine. After twenty seconds, they broke the kiss so they could catch their breaths.

"Dinner at my place. At eight. Not a second late mister." The woman's nametag read as Nora Valkyrie.

"I'll be there." Informations Officer Lie Ren winked at her.

Nora Valkyrie rolled her eyes as she walked away. While she did so, she made sure to put some extra sway on her hips. There wasn't a need for her to look back because she knew he loved the sight of her rear end. 

Eventually, Nora opened the door for her to enter a slightly busy hallway. Her uniform was just as perfect as her combat record. So took several glances around as none of the other GDI soldiers seemed to show interest as she sauntered past them. 

Eventually, Commando Nora Valkyrie entered the office of one Pyrrha Nikos. 

"So what's on the agenda?" Nora tiled her head with a smile.

"Other you breaking a dozen relationship regulations? Nothing much. We have some paperwork to fill out before the end of tomorrow." Pyrrha grumbled as she sorted out four stacks of paperwork. 

"It's the world we live in Pyrrha. We got to enjoy as much as we can." Nora spoke her outlook on life. "We're just two _VERY_ consenting adults."

"What you do with Lie Ren is not of my concern." Pyrrha spoke as if it was a rehearsed.

"Thanks for disabling the camera in the spare boardroom." Nora fixed her posture. 

"Just know I can't always cover for you…" Pyrrha stamped a paper with a GDI insignia.

"Right. Did you catch up on the recent Yellow Zone reports?" Nora asked. Outside of combat, Nora's reputation as a Commando was never in doubt nor second-guessed by the desk jockeys. Of course, that didn't mean the commandos don't answer to a superior officer. In Nora's case, that officer was Second Lieutenant Pyrrha Nikos.

Since the defeat of the Signal Ruins. Pyrrha Nikos and her command were ordered back to Vale for her to spend weeks reforming her unit. That meant a lot of paperwork and time off for her battalion. The only one that suffered was Pyrrha. Nora had all the time in the world to kill. Mostly with secret rendezvous with her unofficial boyfriend.

"A Nod Refinery was defended from a recent attack. Half of the GDI division sent there was wiped out. But Tank Commander Winter Schnee destroyed the Avatar division that was posted there before Nod reinforcement arrived." Pyrrha said without the need to look at Nora.

"Well I don't know to label that kind of bittersweet news." Nora sat down in one of the spare chairs in Pyrrha's office.

"It's just news." Pyrrha glanced at Nora. "And would you get your feet off my table."

"Are you asking or telling me… ma'am?"

"I'm asking." Then like that, Nora moved her feet off the desk. "Did you look at those files I asked you to do?" 

"Yep. I put them on your desk this morning."

"Thanks. Who do you think will be the best pick for the Battalion?"

"Honestly… I don't know about any of them. Most of them are greenhorns. So I think they would just get religious out there." Nora shrugged. By religious. She meant that the soldiers would get 'holey' out there and well… be full of bullet holes.

"Well, that's okay. I invited two candidates to my office. They should be here-" 

' _KNOCK KNOCK_ '

"Right now." Pyrrha set several papers aside. Pyrrha waved at the see-through glass as two GDI soldiers entered the office. The both of them were men in their standard blue uniforms. 

"So you're Neptune Vasilias and Sun Wukong." Pyrrha stood up from her desk and observed the two soldiers. Her eyes scanned the fixture of the uniforms and how they maintained themselves. The blonde one left a button at the top of his overshirt was out of place. 

"Heya?" Nora waved as she leaned back in her chair. 

"That we are, Ma'am." The Blue haired young man with pale skin stood tall as his googles shined in the light. It was on his forehead, and the goggles themselves didn't break any GDI dress codes. The second was another young man with blonde hair and a dark complexion. 

"I received several special accommodations from the Vacuo Blue Zone." Pyrrha opened her paperwork for their files.

"You stopped a Black Hand advance as well as took part of the counter-attack to eliminate the Forward Operating Base that Nod had on the outskirts." Pyrrha continued to read several special events the two did together. Nora rolled her eyes in boredom.

"This is very great to read and to bore to hear." Pyrrha looked at the both of them. "Look, I need soldiers that can pull their weight in future missions in my Battalion. I could have just accepted one of you, but judging from the files, it seems that the both of you yield better results as a pair. I don't want to bore everyone with details, so what do you say? Do you want to be part of the Death Brigade?" Pyrrha looked to both of them. Her eyebrows narrowed and then she 

"Yes, ma'am." Both Sun and Neptune spoke in unison. 

"Glad to hear it. Report to your new Barracks in on base. For the next two days… you're on leave." Pyrrha returned to her desk. "You're dismissed."

Sun and Neptune both saluted their new commanding officer then exited her office. The two of them kept their head held high given her post. Neptune offered a fist for Sun to complete the fist bump. The Sun jumped for joy as Neptune proceeded and put Sun into a headlock.

"I told you we could make it." Neptune laughed.

"Yeah yeah… Come on; I know this bar that's calling our names." Sun shoved his head out of the lock. 

Then like that the two of them walked out of the Headquarters shoulder to shoulder. 

Meanwhile in Pyrrha's office.

…

"Sooooo?"

…

… "Does this mean I can go too?" Nora asked as she glanced at the clock. The time was 6:43 pm. 

"Whatever. Just be sure to come in tomorrow to help me finish this up…" Pyrrha's chair was pulled back at Nora gave her a warm hug.

"I'll be here before you even show up." Nora smiled at her best friend in the GDI. 

"Don't make me regret this…" Pyrrha uttered as she completed her current paper for vehicle manifests. Nora walked out of the office with a smile.

50 minutes later, Vale's Dreamville Apartments.

' _KNOCK KNOCK_.' After 6 seconds. Nora opened her front door.

There he was. Lie Ren, Nora's second best friend in the GDI. He dressed in casual clothes for the occasion. He had a green silk shirt with white pants. His hair wasn't tied back so he could let it hang freely.

Nora stood there and leaned on her door. She wore a pink no sleeve shirt that had a white heart in the middle and jean short shorts. At her feet were two puffy blue slippers that looked like sloths.

"Nice to know you're on time." Nora stepped aside for Ren to enter.

"You know I'm never late."

"Well, I got some soup on the stove. It should be ready in twenty minutes." Nora stared at Ren. "We just have to be patient.

With that, a stern look consumed Ren. "I know what we could do until then…" Nora was lifted up in his arms. The two looked into each other's eyes. Ren gently used his leg to close the door behind them as Nora's laughter echoed in the apartment.

 **Not a combat chapter. As much I would like to write the never-ending war between the GDI and Nod, I felt something like this was appropriate. So I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a review of your thoughts and have a beautiful day.  
**

**Mr. Green37:** Yeah the War is hectic. I guess this chapter can be seen more as of a cool down from the previous chapters. Cinder fits perfectly in the Black Hand.

 **Pataponvideo:** I agree, it's a rather beautiful mistake for Ruby to have such a weapon. While Yes, Ruby is just as stubborn to consider putting her life on the line like that. Agreed with the view of luck. Thank you for reading. 

**Guest:** Yay, I'm happy I came back to this as well. As much as I aim to update every week, I don't have a real update schedule. Sorry, I just don't want to get your hopes up to much. Please voice your thoughts on this chapter. Thank you so much for reading and have an excellent day.

 **Iandude:** Thank you and I think we all want to see how the battle would play out. Have a great day.


	5. Chapter 5, The Transfer

The militia base was put on edge since most the soldiers there knew how bad the Black Hand could be. They were the Brotherhood's elite, like the ones with the best equipment and arguably the faction that anyone in the yellow zones doesn't want to piss off. Jaune knew this from a year earlier when he was under the command of a Nod Confessor. 

Saxton was his name. During a small infantry skirmish, Saxton led his group of soldiers into a GDI ambush of snipers. Half the squad dead, while only four were unharmed, and the rest were wounded. 

Saxton was consumed with the thought of an early victory he stood up and a clean shot through his visor and toppled over the moment the firefight started. The ones who were alive was Jaune himself and Cardin Winchester. The two of them took charge to get the wounded out the place. In the chaos, Cardin was shot in the shoulder and didn't notice it until the squad made it back to base.

As much as Jaune disliked the Black Hand but without them, he wouldn't have met one of his trusted comrades, Cardin. They knew how terrible the Black Hand could be, so it was up to Jaune and Cardin to get the militia better off than before. That meant better training, dangerous drills, and no more swarm tactics that only left a lot of people dead. 

Cardin accepted the role as an instructor as Jaune focused on several logistical aspects as well as the moves for the militia to take. The two didn't feel any resentment about it either.

Jaune walked out of the medical tent and spotted Iona heading toward him.

"What we got?" Jaune asked Iona.

"The people in key members in Patch knew of the Black Hand coming and hid the Faunus in the emergency bunkers. Stockpiled supplies were in a warehouse that Twitch oversaw. The people know it, and the church is ready to hose a false sermon of Nod preaching." 

"Great. What of the militia?"

"We're getting ourselves together. If the Black Hand want to destroy Patch, we're ready for a fight. The mayor is prepared to issue an evacuation if it comes to that."

"Great work. Just check up on the garage to see if they need help."

"Yes, sir." Iona nodded to jog off. 

Jaune continued to walk toward his main tent so he could get some documentation of his current orders which were outdated since the Signal battle as well as records of the militia tried to contact the Brotherhood since. Once every three days. It was a countermeasure to make it so that this militia doesn't come off as negligent to the Brotherhood.

The reason why Jaune had to hide the Faunus people, was because they're physically more capable than regular people. However Nod, don't just accept the Faunus, but instead, use them as the better soldiers in the war with GDI. Some would fall victim to the Tiberium experiments Nod loves to do. The lives of Faunus were that they were a prize in the war, but a terrible one. Jaune hated it, but he allowed Faunus to be part of the militia by their choice. 

In the Blue Zones, there is still some racism toward the Faunus. So it didn't work out for them in the long run. Patch was a place of equality and human/Faunus rights. That includes keeping the young Faunus safe from Nod's clutches.

Jaune shook his head as bug flew near his nose. He looked back to see the base.

Every plan came together as he organized it. Jaune felt at ease to see the people work like clockwork in preparation. So he continued with part of the plan, to help those who needed it.

27 minutes later

"I see them. There are 3 Venomcrafts than 2." A militia soldier stated as she lowered her binoculars.

"Okay, there has to be absolutely no fire unless the Black Hand do something extreme. Got it?" Jaune looked around to the various captains of the Militia. Each of them accepted the orders and split up to help in any way Jaune would order.

The Venomcrafts circled above then lowered to a dust clearing. Each one of them opened up, and 3 Black Hand soldiers walked out. Making for a total of 9. 

Each of them stepped proudly out as their jet black armor shined off the sun and the red visor helmets made it difficult on which direction to look. The suits armor was specially designed to endure large quantity of small arms and small explosives. No expense was too much, and the Black Hand had the suits for a reason. 

"What a dump." A Black Hand soldier spoke into the comms.

"Agreed, these pitiful militia types are like rats. Always swimming in the filth." A woman responded under her helmet. The armor for the Black Hand have their own small communications signals linked to their comrades so it was easy for all Black Hand members to have private conversations.

"You think the GDI wouldn't waste their time in massacring them?" Another asked as he stepped out one of the Venomcrafts.

"Doubtful. Otherwise we wouldn't even be here." The woman Black Hand glanced to the one who asked. "Watch it, the wildlife is coming out to see us."

"Hello there. Um, welcome to the Patch Militia Chapter." Jaune waved his arms as the Venomcraft jets shut down.

"We're not the ones here to speak with you insect!" A Black Hand soldier stepped forward to show dominance to Jaune.

 _Have fun in that helmet jerk._ Jaune thought as he leaned back from the soulless visor.

"Then who is?" Jaune looked over the BL's shoulder.

"That'll be me." A feminine voice called out as she walked out of the third Venomcraft.

Jaune widened his eyes.

A young woman with dual pistols stepped out, and she waved off the pilot. Just by the red stripes on her shoulder of her olive green tank top told Jaune she was an officially recognized Commando of the Brotherhood.

Of the red strips, that was the only thing that she had on to resembled the Brotherhood. She had white pants with a layer of trimmed shorts above it behaved like leg warmers. Her dual pistols rested in at her lower back as she walked toward Jaune. Her hair was dark mint green, cut into a straight fringe with bangs and two elongated locks of hair. Her eyes were a set of dark red, and she tilted her head as she approached Jaune. 

"Sorry about the Black Hand here, they were ordered to act as my escort." The woman shrugged as she stopped in front of Jaune. "So you're the Patch Commander."

"I wouldn't say, commander…" Jaune leaned off. He noticed a Black Hand Cabal cock his head at him and looked to its right to another. There must have been a comment to Jaune's appearance. 

"Do the people here listen to you?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Do they follow your orders?"

"Yes ma'am."

"The congratulations, you're a commander." The woman smirked at Jaune.

"Right, can I ask why you're here miss…?"

"Call me Emerald." She offered her hand.

"Jaune. Militia _'commander.'"_ Jaune introduced himself. The sound of it didn't roll off the tongue that well. 

"Great, do you mind if you show me around?" Emerald asked.

"Of course." Emerald took one step, and nine heavy boots stepped with her. "Excuse me."

Emerald turned around to look at the Black Hand squad. "I'm ordering all of to stay here with the Venomcrafts."

"Ma'am, we're here to oversee your safety as our orders still stand." A deep-voiced male stepped forth of the other Black Hand. 

"And your orders included listening to me on what I have to say as well. Stay here and wait for further instruction." Emerald frowned at the Black Hand. Each of them took a step back and accepted the orders.

"MA'AM!" They said in unison.

Emerald looked away and walked beside Jaune. She halted and looked around then before Jaune could turn his head, a bullet struck the center of the helmet of a Black Hand soldier. The other Black Hand soldier was shocked by that. (Given their body movements.)

"I hacked your radio frequencies on the ride here. Never call me a 'bitch' again." Emerald holstered his pistol. "Let's go."

Jaune felt his hands quiver as three militia soldier sprinted out into the open to see Jaune still alive. Cardin's eyes widened and pulled the other two back. Nothing major happened as Cardin stopped from anything worse from happening. Emerald glanced back as Jaune followed her. 

"What brings a Commando here ma'am?" Jaune asked.

"Don't call me ma'am; you make it I sound like an old woman." Emerald retorted. 

"So what do I call you?" Jaune halted himself from saying 'ma'am' again.

"Just call me Emerald, and I'll call you Jaune, sound fair?" 

"Sure thing, um… Emerald." Emerald looked away as Jaune spoke. Once she did, Jaune waved his arms as a militiaman nodded to jog off to other stations. It was a stand down signal for the base to ease up. Since the Black Hand isn't the ones to check on the militia base and local town. 

"I came here as part of a transfer request," Emerald stated. 

"What do you mean?"

"I got tired of my time at Temple Prime. Out here, I heard that the Raider Crews are something that is still active as the rest of the Nod Military is still on standby from Kane's orders." 

"Meaning?" Jaune lead off.

"I want to be where the action is." Emerald put it bluntly.

"Also, I'm here to give you and your militia new orders. I know it would usually communicate the message by radio, but can't be at risk." 

"Are you sure you want to tell us. I mean, we're militia, we don't have the resources for anything large." Jaune pleaded his case. It was a messy one, but Jaune didn't want to be one to put his whole regiment and town at risk.

"Are you backing out?" Emerald stopped in her tracks.

"No, just stating the facts for you. Emerald." Jaune responded to her, defeated.

"Listen. Something big is going to go down in several months. Right now four other commandos are spreading out all over Remnant under Kane's orders. I made my request yesterday and sent here. So in other words, I'm here to stay. The Venomcrafts have my belongings." 

"I don't know what to say, Emerald." Jaune's mind filled with scary thoughts. A Freaking Nod Commando will be in Patch. _Something isn't right here. What if she's here to check up on them and report to the Brotherhood about Patch?! Will a reaper order for the Faunus be issued?_ So many colliding and frightening thoughts.

"So I here to act on standby until such orders come into the future. Since you're militia, you have no direct authority. As of today, you're an official Nod Captain. Commandos are told to listen to whomever by Command officials." Emerald stopped and moved her hands in back in forth from her stomach. "So that means we're going to have to work together."

Jaune stopped then placed his hand on his forehead.

"What does this mean for Patch?"

"Nothing." Emerald looked out to see the various militia calming down. Cardin had a dozen recruits at the firing range. The appeared to have ignored. 'Appeared' being a simple observation. 

"Carry on as you normally would, and I'm on standby at this location." Emerald looked around. "It's natural here." Emerald pursed her lips. 

"Well, I could have two extra sets of hands to help out with to get your belongings. I can set you up for a private room in the abandoned building in the center of the base if you like." Jaune replied. He hid his worry well. Being in charge of the militia was a way for him to practice.

"No, buildings are always an automatic target in case of GDI bombing raids. We'll figure that out later."

"I can arrange that for you Emerald." Jaune nodded.

"Great." Emerald turned around. "I heard about the Ion Cannon strike and the Signal battle. So I think we could get along." Emerald nodded.

"Likewise."

From there Jaune walked back to Emerald to the Venomcrafts. Each of the Black Hand sat down under the Venomcrafts. Emerald ordered them to stand out the way for the militia to get her belongings. The militia was thorough in getting the crates and stuff. Emerald told them that their mission was complete and for the dead Black Hand member sent back to them. They accepted, and the Venomcrafts zoomed off into the sky. 

"Well they were… something." Jaune grimaced watched the attack craft fly off.

"They're heartless fascists." Emerald frowned. "I hate them."

"We'll get along just fine Emerald." Jaune chuckled.

The militia troops walked down the pathways to move it to Emerald's place to stay. Jaune put his hands in his pockets as he was still surprised by the visit of a Nod Commando. He didn't trust her, but he had to unless he would put Patch at risk. 

"Can I ask you something Jaune?" Emerald asked as she watched the Venomcrafts disappear under the sun.

"Sure."

"Does the name Cabal mean anything to you?"

 **Well, there we have it. Emerald joined the Patch Militia forces. I don't have much to say on this note other than thank you for reading. Have an excellent day.  
**

**37:** The Black Hand is always something to worry over. Thank you for reading. 

**Sdphantom10:** Wow, I never expected someone to say such a thing. I'm glad that you would feel that way about giving the Command and Conquer franchise a shot. I think it's a fun series as the undertones are commendable. For the class assignment for the characters has been easy to assign, the challenge was to make sure they fit the role given. Cinder was the perfect fit for the Black Hand. I hope you have fun with the games. I recommend starting at Command and Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars. I had fun with it. Thank you for reading and have an excellent day. 


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